Urgent primary care centres - a new addition to BC's health care system - are popping up across the province. Two PVN patient partners, Layton Engwer and Chad Dickie, were part of the steering committee that planned and opened the urgent primary care centre in Langford in October!

In our latest blog post, we chatted with Layton (right) and Chad to find out what it was like to work on such a large project and how they are continuing their involvement after the centre opened. Both of them were invited to the official opening of the centre, where Layton was asked to speak to the crowd about his and Chad's contributions to the project.

In the blog post, Chad and Layton explain that the centres are meant to reduce wait times, connect patients who don't have a family doctor to a practitioner they can see regularly, and provide more diversity in care services in one location.

This is great news for patients and families on Vancouver Island and it's wonderful to see patient partners so involved throughout the entire process! Well done, Layton and Chad!

PVN Patient Partner Sherri Mytopher has been living with multiple sclerosis (MS) for the past five years. She has been involved with the BC & Yukon Division of the MS Society of Canada for nearly as long. Through her volunteer work there, she has turned her diagnosis into a chance to help others affected by MS in her community of Fort St. John.

She recently received the 2018 BC & Yukon Division's MS Champion Award for her volunteering and public awareness work, and her community leadership in Northern BC.

Congratulations, Sherri! We're thrilled to hear about your incredible work and see your smiling face in the news!

This recent article in the New York Times provides tools and advice any patient or caregiver needs when accessing the health care system.

It details tips for what to do when you're feeling well, when seeing a professional, during a hospital stay and returning home. The author also shares ideas to help you advocate for others in your life.